How To Brand Yourself
Your brand is not a logo.
Too many people think that a personal brand is a logo or a color palette, and they couldn’t be further from the mark.
Does your logo and color palette matter when you are looking to brand yourself? Yes! But only because they convey a certain feeling to the end user. Branding is essentially getting permission from your customer to have a certain space in their brains. And if your brand is all over the place, it won’t stick there. You must be clear and you must be consistent.
When Chic CEO got started, my business partner, Jody, and I knew that everything had to be chic. We never sent out a proposal or email that wasn’t chic. Each event we threw or experience our subscribers had, was chic. This was mandatory.
I recently had a meeting with a creative agency where I submitted a proposal to their team. He told me it was “wall art” and it was the most beautiful proposal he’d ever seen. So I asked, “Well, how do you send out your proposals?” to which he replied, “Google Docs.” A CREATIVE AGENCY!!
(Stephanie tries to mask her look of horror.)
Their proposals should be creative!! They do amazing work, but the one thing that is supposed to sell their services was bland and boring. They didn’t realize that even a simple proposal is part of their brand.
Your brand is an experience.
I recently heard a story of a healthcare company in Michigan that has completely overhauled it’s internal language to reflect “health.” They have removed all violent language.
- They don’t have “bullet lists,” they have “task lists.”
- They don’t “execute” a plan, they “implement a plan.”
- The don’t “tackle” a problem, they don’t “take a stab at it,” they don’t “tear into.” You get the picture…
They have taken their internal communications to heart in order to further their brand and get buy-in from their team.
Today you are going to inventory every touch point your client and even your internal team has with your company and make sure it’s properly branded.
• If you are a design agency, your internal communications, offices, proposals, etc., need to convey “beautiful design.”
• If you are a cleaning company, every interaction with a customer needs to convey “clean.”
• If you are a health and wellness coach, everything you create needs to reflect “wellness.”
Never, ever, ever, ever forget that your brand must permeate every single thing you do internally and externally.
Do not send out a plain google doc to your clients!! Do not bore them! This goes for any partners, employees, board members, etc.
Here’s an example. If I owned a cleaning company and was trying to win a corporate client, I would submit my proposal in person. I would print my well designed, clean looking proposal and roll it around the handle of a feather duster. Or present it in a box with a pair of white gloves. Maybe I would follow up with a plant that is known for purifying the air. Anything to convey “clean.” While my competitors are submitting a boring Google Doc, I have made an impression.
Once I land the account, I know they are expecting the office building to be spotless. But what about their peak-end experience? Perhaps I put a tiny card on every desk letting them know it’s been disinfected with eco-friendly products. (P.S. Research has shown that our desks are dirtier than public toilets. So when you’re done reading this, give your desk a once over with your fave disinfectant.) Or I place packets of hand sanitizer wipes (branded with my logo) in a pretty bowl in the bathrooms.
EVERYTHING IS BRAND.
Sign up for the Customer Touchpoint Journey worksheet below and start to inventory all client touchpoints so that you can make sure you are properly conveying your brand. Make them FEEL your brand with every interaction.
And seriously, isn’t this the most fun?
Download the Customer Touchpoint Inventory Worksheet below – it will help you identify all of the areas in your business that you customer interacts with you and how you can brand it.